Shiny brand new second hand things in my system today V1.2

Be interested in what you think - the floorstanders seem to be well reviewed

After 12 years with my own speakers I fancied having something different around to listen too occasionally.

I listen out of the sweet spot most of the time (can’t get my chair where it needs to be) and I heard that Shahinian Arcs might do a good job when listening from a less than optimal position.

Picked these up Monday and listened a lot this week, they are more forgiving of your position, they don’t image as precisely as some speakers and the tonal balance is warmer than I’m used too. They do a great job of making my toes tap and are easy to listen to for hours. Bass sounded a bit less snappy and they don’t have quite the honesty of the Bastanis but I like them anyway.

Any suggestions for a step up in power to drive them? I currently use the Uniti Atom as source and power but am open to changing if it makes sense.

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Do you have a budget?

Probably £1k plus the value of the atom

Still hemming and hawing about this.

When I initially Googled it I thought the 33 on its own was £2400 which was a bit ouchy, but now (sober) I can see that the 33 and 303 are £1200 apiece.

Do I really use the living room system enough to justify going from one box to three, plus a lot of money?

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Bloke was throwing some old bits away so salvaged these before he dumped them.
Not in great condition,but work fine,and sound far better than I expected.
Apparently they didn’t sell well due to only being 15watts.

1969 b&o passive 2200
Ideal for dab duties with the denon

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I’m getting lazy and want the easiest way to work the system.
This is one reason I’m enjoying the quad,one button to turn on the pre/power and dab radio

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Picked these up cheap the other day, they are surprisingly ok :+1:.

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Different looking tweeter

Some sort of vapour deposited fabric I think :thinking:

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As you well know, this is not an industry driven by logic so attempting to apply logic to these is pointless. I will say this;

  • They actually sound really nice; not pipe and slippers, not super bright, just a really even handed, enjoyable sound.
  • They are beautifully made.
  • They’re a really lovely thing to interact with and look at. Let’s be honest here, a big chunk of this whole schtik is how it makes you feel. These things make me feel happy.

I’d make rash promises about you coming up to have a listen but I’ve promised another reviewer (who I like) I’d turn them around promptly so they’re off on Tuesday.

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They’ve got a priceless bit of early 70s nostalgia on their hands and they know it.

A friend’s father had the combo and I was hypnotised by it. FiL apparently also had them, but later went all Beocenter.

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I have a slight feeling similar to when people nostalgia themselves into a puree over various 60s/70s railcars.

Had some recently, and quickly stepped up to obelisks I enjoyed them so much. I used to pull mine into the room and toe in a little for proper sessions. Amps wise, I tried a few. The web will tell you that you need Dynavector, which do match very well, but equally something with a decent amount of current will work. I used a Hegel H390 first, sounded good and made them swing. Improved by adding a separate Dynavector power amp, but the Arcs need that less than the Ob’s.
Something like the Hegel, with a hefty power supply and plenty of current will do.

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I had the bigger brother 3-way some years ago with a 12ā€ bass. Decent, quite studio/clean sounding from memory.

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:grin:

Dynavector HX75 & L100 (switched to the HX1.2 when I got the Obs)

Guess you could get a 33/303 off eBay for under £300,then send them to quad for a service,approx another £300.

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Anything bargain basement that might work? Would a Puresound A30 be a crazy idea (that’ll be for when the Bastanis are out back in the system).

Would a Sony N55ES work or do they need something a bit more ā€œaggressiveā€ to really wake them up.

No, get bigger speakers, the 2 way Direkts would suit your living room really well.

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How about a Unison Research Unicorn integrated, might do both sets of speakers